


Shattered Mirror

by skelli



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alcohol, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship/Love, M/M, Multiple Pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-06-30 21:43:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15760284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skelli/pseuds/skelli
Summary: An exploration into Noctis' relationships, where chapters are broken into their respective relationships. As Noctis takes on his journey given to him by the Gods, he has those around him both for his support and success and those for their own benefit, even if it works against the prince. Delicate romances, burning vows of loyalty and emotion, tender sympathies and manipulation at his vulnerabilities, Noctis experiences many relationships all to which touch him to his very core. Chapters are separated by pairing and thus are not time linear with the order.





	1. The Road of Our Journey

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write bursts of character to character interaction which I personally feels captures kind of how FFXV plays. At least for me. For those who are curious as to how this work will be broken down, I will label each chapter in the title with which character I'm pairing Noctis with which includes Prompto, Ignis, Gladio, Luna, and Ardyn. If there is any pairing which you don't want to read, simply skipping the chapter will not cause any issue across the other chapters because they are not linear and connected except for between chapters for the same character. So far I have Prompto's first piece finished and an opening chapter as well as half of Ardyn and Ignis. Soon to come will be Gladio and Luna but I can't guarantee who will come next. I just want to write to my inspiration! It is pairing focused for the most part and for now the rating is Teen and Up but the rating may go up with chapters. Any warnings will be added to the tags as the work progresses and will be written in the notes.

He was a prince but he was not all given. Weakness, turmoil, the cruel, cold hand of fate. How could he smile upon the people honestly with such darkness awaiting him down the stone hallways of his royalty? 

Tell me, father, you wouldn’t let this come of me. 

Noctis knew of emotions he didn’t know how to put to words. He was not to be a regal, well-experienced leader like his king. Not without the outside world soothing him, teaching him of the beauty he would still get to see even with his lineage so he became cold shouldered, distant. Everything always just right outside of his grasp.

Was he not entitled to some of his youth? Healthy enough to take on responsibility now. Important enough that he was in no need of the young adulthood. Smothered pain only reared its head in bitterness, attitude that had no right in honesty. Old enough to be married for the sake of his righteous kingdom. Born into politics and born into companions. 

Even with his despair, his conflict, Noctis was not looking to stand in the light of day and press disappointment into his own father’s brow. Not at the weight he saw in the man’s eyes watching him go. What he wanted was to ask questions. How do you endure the pain? Why were you able to stand for the people and let that be who you are? Why am I…?

He still hurt trying to claw his way to questions about himself. 

The comfort of his father’s hand sending him off to see Lunafreya was bittersweet. He felt it in the car for a long time. The four companions riding forward to meet the fate they thought they knew. Noctis wanted fresh air from it all or really, truly, he felt he might suffocate. 

The presence of his three closest companions apart from Luna, was both comforting and painful. Prompto’s brimming smile, his playful jokes were like high school, pulling Noctis back out of his head, out of his aching soul and into half-hearted pushes and rolls of his eyes. Ignis provided his smart and yet understanding comments, his presence. There was to be normalcy with them by his side. And now that they were moving forward, no longer sitting in the classrooms, standing on training grounds, he found himself bristling with Gladio’s attention.

Eyes that challenged him and strength that threatened to push him down if he didn’t hold his stance. A hard brow fixated in an expression Noctis had _nothing_ to do with. He took to looking out the window when they were sat next to each other. 

Their car breaking down was both relieving and a pain in the ass. Something that held a quiet reprieve from his flow of time, if just for a bit. Gladio seemed content with looking out into the open nothingness around them and taking refuge amongst the natural. Noctis both loved and felt overwhelmed by the vastness of the world about him. So much of everything and nothing. He took to complaining mildly to alleviate his battling emotions.

Luna knew of depths that he hadn’t even waded into past his ankles but he didn’t even know that yet. As if he was setting foot on his own beaches, just ready to take off his shoes and really feel the sand. He would hold her down and she would hold him up. Her polite control and endless kindness, a kindness from someone who knew of great pain and wished nothing the same on any other being. He was both moved by her, fascinated and vulnerable and he was shy. He was naive and shifting, sharp to her smooth. They were not children anymore.

His companions’ teasing only fueled his inability to open up about how he really felt. They had a connection; one he both cherished and feared because to meet her at their political positions meant change. Irreversible and gripping. 

Was he now happier, laying out beneath the stars, elbow to elbow with his closests, his brotherhood, strangled by his anxiety? If he could just sleep, roll over and sleep. Gladio was hot and Ignis was cool. Prompto was warm. He was cold and burning and fitful. He wanted to sleep in, sleep when the morning was there and all was well. When all seemed normal and the smell of breakfast and the sounds of his friends could comfort his aching heart. 

They chided his bad behavior and he was both pleased to be looked at with such simplicity and annoyed. Couldn’t they all see? He was drowning. 

But Noctis was happy too. He could see so much. The heat of the sun on his face and the frustrations of hiking just a little too far. Dirt under his fingernails. Too hot coffee in his tin cup and sneaking pictures of whoever was not paying attention. Laughing in the backseat with the sweet wind against his face. He was real and he was not just Prince Noctis, noble pride of his father who maybe knew of his weights and his torments and maybe did not. 

A brief cut from everything that echoed off his castle walls. They were just doing simple tasks amongst those who lived a way far different than the castle life he had known. Go out into the landscape, protect the rest areas, feel the grit under the palms and watch the the sun set on the corpses of creatures thought soulless. Watch it set on their hard work. The grip of a strong arm around his shoulders, ruffling his hair, brittle pride at compliments he couldn’t take honestly. Happy claps on the shoulder. 

Their smiles warmed him. He didn’t even really mind being “reduced” to an errand boy. Anything to loosen the collar of royalty that pressed into his throat. The warmth of the sun on his face and the far echo of a waiting responsibility. If only his leash would let him go just a little farther. 

When they stopped for the night, leaving the day’s work behind them like a regular job, he found the freedom of the evening so pleasant it almost made him giddy. Hard work left him lulling into sleep with the movement of his team around him and a slow, warm day left him energy for games and conversation that had nothing to do with royal duty. The sharp corners of princely manners were as if forgotten and Noctis nestled in to his dip of normality. 

Dozing with his feet up on the motel’s desk, he fluttered about warm soft spaces, the heat of sunlight and the soft touch of flowers along his arms and legs, knowing that just out of his reach was an awaiting hand, soft and gentle-

A jerk, the burst of adrenaline as his chair tipped dangerously which slammed him back to reality and face to face with a sharp, amused grin. Gladio’s arm hugged the back of the chair, holding Noctis in suspension. 

“Hello there, sleeping beauty.” 

Noctis gave him a look, heart still racing. The fields of white flowers were long gone to the corners of his mind he couldn’t see. 

Gladio settled the chair back to all four legs and he clapped the prince’s shoulder, walking forward, “Time for dinner.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” He tossed an arm over the back of the chair and called to the broad, retreating back, “Couldn’t you wake me up more normally?” But there lacked edge to his voice. He sat for another moment, collecting his finely scattered thoughts and then grabbed his boots and headed for the door. 

Ignis greeted him from outside, sleeves rolled up but shirt perfectly tucked into his pants. “We borrowed one of the grills from the motel cook. He said he didn’t mind us having our own barbeque; courtesy of the prince giving them a friendly visit.”

Still lingering along dazed sleep, Noctis gave a distant nod and a noise of acknowledgement. He came forward slowly, looking to the table set up and then to the grill where the kabobs were glistening prettily in the heat. 

“Looks good.” He hummed, which had Ignis flash him a pleased crinkle of his eyes, “Thank you.” 

Prompto was snapping chairs to form and called out, “Think fast, Noct!” 

Turning to the voice, he brought up a hand more out of instinct than anything else and caught the slow lobbed can with a bit of a dip. “Thanks.” He came forward to knock cans together, and both boys grinned as Noctis cracked the can open only to have to put his lips quickly to the fuzz as it spilled out. 

“Woah, woah.”

“Toss me one.” Gladio came into view, hopping off the motel’s front porch. He showed no reserve snatching the can out of the air and when he tossed back the first drink, a fine sliver of beer caught his chin from it being shaken up.

“That’s good.” He sighed, refreshed and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. He tossed himself into one of the chairs and said, “Glad we are getting dinner out in the open. The fresh air makes the meal that much better. Smells great.”

“All thanks to the fresh ingredients we’ve received recently.” Ignis commented and handed both Noctis and Gladio a plate. When they all found their seats, Ignis finally indulged and they all knocked cans together, an energetic cheers lighting up into the reddening sky. 

“It’s good we had these in the cooler from this afternoon.” Ignis took a healthy drink, the warmth of the grill and the day’s work fine on his high cheeks. 

The conversation drifted away from Noctis or more so maybe he himself drifted away, lost in his own thoughts and the echoing remains of his dreams. Soon he would know of his companions and himself. Or maybe instead so he would know of a line of fate that came down to him from years and years passed. A fate that would take the lives of those close to him and strangle it straight into darkness before his very eyes as well as cripple them to weigh him with such a healthy guilt he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. 

But now he was simply Noctis, one who knew of only the present and that present was a juicy, tender kabob, stinging the roof of his mouth and lifting his mouth in an excited smile, “Ah, hot, hot-”


	2. Prompto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the rooftops out in the dry desert of their journey, Prompto questions himself and his place next to his beloved prince. Noctis comes to his side and reassures him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An opening scene to Prompto that mirrors one that actually happens in the game. I loved that scene as well as the imagery so I've written a version of that conversation. I think the relationship between Prompto and Noctis is like a first love, gentle and tender when the feelings are reciprocated.

Love built not by the hand of given responsibility but by the sweet pull of admiration which had blossomed into an innocent but deep affection upon contact. Fostered in his appreciation for Noctis’ presence just simply in his life, Prompto was not just given his space by the prince’s side, he had earned it. And he grieved it being taken away like any normal head over heels, lovesick in many ways, boy. He grieved it in ways that were not normal for his age, heavy and dark and painful. Isolated and cursed. Thoughts kept for the quiet of a night to himself. 

He loved because his friendship made his life meaningful. He loved because his companions were what he had longed for the most truly. He loved because Noctis was the sun to his moon and he could not see the day rise and not begin without his best friend. And as he was the moon, he would not be the same without his sun. 

Change would come for them. Noctis lost his father, and they all watched the simple future full of contained responsibility go up in flames. He watched his best friend mourn deeply, wounds he didn’t know how to fill with jokes and light-hearted comments. 

They were still boys, edging the roads of adulthood that seemed dark and quiet. He couldn’t help but look back over his shoulder to the giggling echoing from classrooms of a time past. He wondered if Noctis looked back there too. 

But if his prince was to go forward, then so would he.

He tested waters cold and deep with tender, bare feet. Noctis’ waters. He knew of these waves, their flow but he was not perfectly graceful overcoming them, the sting of miscommunication and barriers keeping him back. His own anxiety weighed on him, making his legs numb and heavy. 

But sometimes he simply road the waves and found himself in tune with their flow. He found him and his prince simply being. Noctis’ smile and fond gazes shared between them. Laughter over card games on the worn beds of misremembered motels. Morning greetings finally fresh with the mid morning sun. And small secrets. Prompto loved their delicate privacy. Just the two of them looking over pictures on the sides of diners and chuckling. Sharing their thoughts without walls. 

Touching with a boyish love that brought roughness and casual softness. Prompto liked the half hugs and walking with arms slung over shoulders. He knew of simple loves and he knew of deep, sinking loves. 

When they were out camping too, they shared with each other as best friends would. Noctis would sneak his beans and vegetables onto Prompto’s plate and they would burst into laughter at Prompto’s genuine surprise. He could see nothing past the prince who knew of the moment and embraced it.

And he felt nothing but the deepest hurts for the prince sinking under many weights of his reality.

When he was with himself, and sometimes Prompto took this time, he was alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that he felt knew no place in their group and certainly not with his prince. They plagued him with uneasiness growing so that it was becoming despair, horror. Was he truly deserving of his place? Why was he not more? 

Why was he not with a normal past, one he did not turn away from in aching shame? 

There were questions beating against his insides, demanding to be free, to be said, to be torn from his throat and finally acknowledged. So he clamped his mouth shut tighter. Noctis had given so much already, what was Prompto’s purpose if not to support?

He found himself looking to the stars and out into the deep, endless distant for guidance. The cool breeze of the motels rooftops against his sometimes warmed, still sunkissed skin was gentle and forgiving. Without his positivity, he was nothing more than an admirer, a classmate clinging to their former relationship. 

Of course, Prompto both knew of their connection and feared it. Subconsciously scared of folding under the weight, terrified of failing his best friend, he pushed himself away, looked for reasons he was undeserving. 

But he underestimated his prince’s love and with that his prince’s awareness and his gaze. The surprise, both pleasant and awestruck at his approaching prince’s figure onto the rooftop was something he would hold close to his heart for many more nights to come. 

“Noctis?”

Tender eyes but a cocked smile greeted him, “I thought you’d be up here.” 

Proximity Prompto would never tire of brought Noctis right next to him to sit. He dragged his fingers across the roughness of the roof tiles, somewhat shy but endlessly pleased. 

“And?” 

He jerked up, knowing of only his honesty with Noctis. What wouldn’t he answer if the prince asked? He’d lay it all bare, expose even his most delicate insides and let those royal fingers explore if they so pleased. “And?” He echoed. 

Noctis let out a fond noise, close to a laugh, expectant. “What’s on your mind?”

How many more times would he fall in love until his heart was satisfied? Raw, but welling with emotion, Prompto yanked his eyes away, afraid of it all spilling out even before he opened his mouth. He took his bottom lip between his teeth, worrying it. 

“It’s nothing really.” He pushed out, concern running his thoughts in circles. 

“Sure.” Noctis hummed, settling back and tossing his gaze up into the stars. Noctis would let him to his mind if he so choose and relief brought him back down to conversation. 

“You can really see the stars out here.”

“Yeah,” Noctis sighed out, “It’s a lot different than the city. It’s beautiful.” He seemed calm, like the ocean on a day of warm, bright weather and sparkling blue waters. Whether he was here because he was worried for Prompto or wanted the space together, either filled him with such affection he almost knew peace from his anxiety. 

But it was not enough. It would not be enough for an honest boy such as him. 

“Am I good enough to stay by your side?” Even his body came forward and quickly he pulled back, tugging his hand back to his chest. It had just burst forth from him so suddenly. He retreated, the fear of being rejected at the peak of his stress exuding in his action.

Noctis turned to him, eyelashes heavy against the searching of his eyes. He put his hand down close to Prompto’s, “Of course you are. What are you saying?” 

“I-” The words choked him and he scratched at the hard surface of the roof. As if his mouth had a mind of its own, it just began talking, “I’m just- I’m… I’m just me. I’m not.. really, an invaluable member of the team, I just.. I don’t want to pull you down.” His voice died to a whisper, hurt already simply by the thoughts. 

Warmth touched gently at his fingers and he turned, still honest and true to his love to Noctis who was even closer than before. 

“Why are you saying these things?” Direct eyes, and Prompto couldn’t look away for many reasons and all of them dealing with Noctis. “Have you been thinking this all this time?” They both glanced across each other’s faces, touched by sun and pretty. 

The distraction of his multifaceted love, one that knew of desire, slowed his words, pulled his eyes down to a prince’s mouth while he asked important questions. Prompto swallowed, warming like he would under the sun. “I.. can’t help it. I’m.. not like you guys..” The words felt as if they could be taken out into the desert by the wind, fragile and hallow. 

A critical look, pinching the brow and Noctis was giving him a half smile in exasperation. Prompto both loved this expression and shyed under it. 

“You belong here just like the rest of us. I..” A heaviness intruded those blue, blue eyes, “I need you here.” 

Prompto swelled, taking his bottom lip back between his teeth, overwhelmed. What wouldn’t he give to a prince so kind and so generous? He needed to be here too. Noctis pulled his gaze back up, knowing they shared an intimacy that allowed that boyish vulnerability. Heat floated around them and once more their fingers touched.

Expressions weighed with an energy, one not just from the lingering heat of the day. Prompto could see Noctis’ lingering gaze on his mouth and he knew that his prince was watching him nibble. Slowly he let go and caught those blue eyes. They knew no shame. 

Another fraction of distance taken. 

And suddenly he knew he was allowed. He was being given this space just as he had been given others. Thickness in his stomach made his giddiness transform and softly, he murmured, “Can I…?”

Noctis came forward slightly, mesmerized as Prompto was and murmured back, “Yeah…” 

A gentle kiss, warm and still a little shy. The press of lips to lips sank all his heavy, wonderful feelings for his prince right into his gut and Prompto couldn’t resist another. As they met, fingers coming closer, tangling with each other, he found his prince was the same. 

They tried angles and found the tender slowness pulled such affection to their physical selves that they needed a moment to simply breathe, touching foreheads. Their fingers, hot, stayed intertwined. Noctis suddenly laughed slightly, opening Prompto’s eyes. 

“Somehow..” The words trailed off. 

“I feel a little shy..” Prompto finished, a sheepish grin catching both their expressions like fire. They shared a laugh, holding hands for a hot moment before letting go. Their heat tossed to the winds save the flame that burned in their hearts which smoldered sweetly. 

“Ignis and Gladio will wonder where we are.” Noctis said as they both stood and Prompto stretched, loosening his muscles which were tight from sitting.

“A little hide-and-seek won’t hurt.” Prompto flashed a smile. Quiet intimacy sat between them. Prompto knew he would have more time with his best friend, knew he would share more in their coming days and even if he knew not of their future, he longed for it enough to ensure he would make it happen. 

Trotting forward, boots crackling against the grit of the tiles, he dropped a peck on the corner of Noctis’ mouth. 

“But I’ll still race ya!” 

Happy surprise burst across the prince’s eyes before smoldering into the challenge. 

“Not fair! You got a head start!”

“Woah, hey! Who said you could teleport!”


	3. Ignis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis and the weather go under and while resting in the tent, he shares a moment with Ignis.

Intelligent eyes, hard with discipline swept the sky and their owner turned back to his party of three. “You’re right, Gladio, it looks as though a storm is coming.” 

“Could feel it in the air.” Gladio spit the grass root he was chewing into the bushes and he shifted, rocking back and forth slightly as he folded his strong arms across his wide chest.

Noctis looked on with mild disinterest, chin in his hands as he sat on a close by rock. He even gave the sky a glance but could see the clouds were far out along the sky and thought half against the idea of rain. 

“Should we find shelter?” Prompto hopped down from a nearby rock, brimming with nimble energy and camera in hand. His slender legs passed in Noctis’ peripheral coming to the discussion. “There are things I would rather not get too wet.” He shook the camera in indication, and Ignis nodded slightly. 

“Yes, it would be better for things to stay dry. We might be able to make it back before the storm hits but we are heading in that direction.”

Gladio gave the sky another hard appraisal, “If we set up camp halfway then at least the valuables won’t get wet. I don’t think we’ll beat the storm before getting to town.” 

Noctis was feeling a familiar sense of irritation, or impatience. Something scratching at his insides and he rocked his head in his hands, trying not to let the clawing rise its way up into his words. Maybe it was simply exhaustion, his lower back ached and he found his legs heavier than usual. It had been quite a hike to find the dog tags of the missing hunter and it was not without its climbing. 

Pushing his heels through the dirt, he tried to distract his mind as his companions weighed their decision and he looked out into the distance, thinking quietly of that night’s dinner. Something with meat would be good, and it should be hot too. His eyelids lowered softly, half focusing on a nearby weed fluttering in a low wind. 

“Noctis. Noctis?” 

He jerked, surprised by a sharp cold against his cheek and whirled up, looking at the perspiring water bottle close his face in offering. Ignis’ gloved hand looked elegant along the clear plastic and slowly he lifted his gaze to his smooth expression. 

“You’re looking a little warm, have some water before we head out.”

Not knowing of what to call the hard tugging deep in his stomach, Noctis took the water and mumbled his thanks. The lingering cool on his face held his mind as he took a healthy drink. He had been thirstier than he thought. Ignis’ eyes lingered on him, but if he had concerns he kept them to himself and pulled the group forward, “Let’s find a campground suitable for the tent. We might be spending tonight under the stars.”

The walk felt long and once he stumbled hard, jerking as Gladio unceremoniously grabbed his arm to catch him. It hurt but his usual biting pride was slumbering under something heavy and quiet and Noctis simply let Gladio help him back up. 

“You okay?” Even Gladio knew that it was unusual for the prince to lack focus to such an a degree, especially at the expense of having to give points to his Shield. But those heavy eyelashes simply dipped and then he gave Gladio a long look. 

“Yeah..” The word caught as if he had more to say and he swayed harsh once, causing for Gladio to put his hand back out, “Woah there, buddy-” He started to say before he had to put his actual strength in the action and catch the collapsing prince who crumpled on weak legs. 

In the distance was a harsh rumble, echoing across the plains to them. Gladio held Noctis, still surprised and looked to Ignis who had immediately come to their side. He stripped the back of his glove away and gently pressed it to Noctis’ forehead. 

As if underwater, the prince felt movement as if waves against his body. His eyelids were heavy, far too heavy for him to lift but he could hear, far away, a voice that calmed him. 

“He’s hot. Feverish. I thought something was wrong. We won’t make it to the car before the storm though. Let’s build camp over across that dip in the land.” 

Roughness jerked at him and he wanted to gasp, say something but the heat of skin to skin relaxed him after another moment of stress. The consistent movement, back and forth, back and forth, lulled him into a strange half sleep, half exhaustive quiet and Gladio carried him without this being known to the prince to their next stop of rest.

He had fallen asleep, mind muddled with the temperature and reality dipped into his dreams like an unexpected visitor. He was back in the castle, back in his bed of years past and his father was behind the door speaking. The voice had authority but there was something distinct Noctis couldn’t place about the way it sounded. No matter how hard he tried to pull his arms out from under the covers though, he was unable to escape and go to the door to see. 

“Maybe we pushed it a little trying to come back before the rain.” 

A rumble, and the pitter patter of rain against the window. He wished his father didn’t have to talk just outside the door. If it was about him at least. Someone put their hand on his back suddenly and rippled the dream, cutting into it like scissors through paper. But he broke the surface of consciousness much less quickly, floating up and lingering just before coming full awake. 

A cool hand brushed his cheek up to his forehead. “Noctis?” 

“Hm…?” He didn’t have it in him yet to open his eyes and could almost convince himself it was maybe his father. Somehow he longed deeply for the man and yet even in his dreams he seemed to be just out of reach. 

“How are you feeling?” 

But no, this voice. He knew this voice well. This voice soothed him in a different way, one that was not paternal and yet… knew of a kind authority, one that did not challenge him but protect him. Ignis was talking to him. Against the walls of the tent the rain became more intense. 

Ignis pulled away for a moment and called to those outside this tent, “The rain is picking up; I’m going to close up this tent with Noctis. I’ve already pulled in the medicine pouch.” The sound of the zipper and then all noise bounced off the thin walls in a less than private room. 

“I’m cold..” Noctis mumbled, burrowing further into the sleeping bag. Dreams of his father always gave him a shivering ache right below his chest which didn’t help his feverish body. He sighed, almost relieved, as reality came a littler sharper, now fully awake and able to escape vulnerable emotions. 

“Have some water. Do you have a headache?” Ignis sat close by and offered a water bottle. The weight of the weather warded off any ideas that they could be overheard and at such rain Ignis even had to raise his voice a little. 

The prince rose to an elbow and minutely shook his head. The water was a mixed relief, both pinching cold and refreshing. It was dim inside the tent but warm and Ignis soon joined him on the rollout sleeping pad next to his sleeping bag. 

“Were you feeling ill this morning?”

Noctis’ eyes trailed away, distance with thought, with deciding how much to say. He didn’t know how to talk after dreaming. “Maybe a little tired.” He had the strength though to sit up and both friends looked at one another, one in fond concern and the other in shielded appreciation. 

“Well, Gladio will be happy to be out in the elements for the night and as long as Prompto’s camera is safe, I see no issue with camping tonight.” Ignis offered, taking what he knew would be a heavy burden off his prince’s shoulders. 

And Noctis, knowing all of Ignis’ thoughtfulness, added with a cock of his lips, “Even with the rain basically leaking into the tent?”

A moment to appraise the situation and then Ignis’ eyes narrowed in a fine amusement, handsome behind the dark rims of his glasses, “As your shield says, it builds character.” 

“Hm.” Noctis half laughed throwing himself back down on his travel pillow. His head had taken on a swimming sensation and the heat of his fever only made him woozier. This time his sigh was more of a resigned frustration, a display of his emotions he struggled to show before anyone besides Ignis. He laid his arm across his eyes and felt the raw hurt, the pining loneliness that was brought on especially by feeling unwell. 

Ignis watched him, having put his gloves away and said, “Once the rain lets up we’ll build a fire and get dinner started. Have something in mind?” 

Noctis, weary from the travel and heat under his skin, opened one eye only a sliver to look at his oldest ally and gave him a weak half smile, “Meat.”

“You know that won’t magically prevent there from being vegetables involved.”

“Worth a shot.” Noctis breathed out, turning onto his side at the ache down his back. And although amused, Ignis brought forward a concerned and comforting hand. “Would you like some medicine?” The strength at the prince’s shoulder almost made him long for home (when things were simpler and Ignis only had to nag about schoolwork). But the sensation of the hand had stayed the same all these years and he found he was okay with being here too after all. 

“Yeah.” 

Ignis drew away a moment and ruffled through the medicines. The echoing of raindrops had lessened and now was merely a faint buzz about them. The prince had grown tired once more and fluttered along a dreamy state of mind until Ignis called him back up. 

He sat up and a cool hand felt his cheek. “This will help you relax. Should take some of the aches and pains away.” Ignis held out the half drank water bottle and two small pills. The two friends looked between one another and something was exchanged although even Noctis couldn’t quite explain it in words. Their hands brushed in the exchange and suddenly he was staring into the serious eyes of a man he trusted his entirety with. 

Would he ever be able to say such things though? He searched the handsome features for some means of knowing that Ignis understood; the straight line of his nose, the pretty dashes of dark eyelashes and the full lips and then all of a sudden his eyes simply stayed there. Pink already his face burned at some hidden warmth. 

“It’ll be better to take the medicine sooner than later.” Ignis finally spoke, eyes so blue, blue like the afternoon sky when the clouds have just dispersed and all that’s left is light and sweet air. 

Noctis, eyelids lowering with the sensation of heat in his chest, tossed the pills into his mouth and while drinking the water used his free hand to mess up Ignis’ hair, shaking it out of its usual hold. 

“Hey!” Ignis pulled back and Noctis laughed through his water, swallowing. Despite his weak limbs, he had down a number on the hairstyle, all the hair now down, soft and thin between his fingers. 

“Work day’s over.” He smiled, “No need to be so stiff anymore.”

Ignis returned the smile, raising one fine eyebrow, “Very funny." He began to at least smooth the hair into a presentable look, "For someone with a fever, you’re feeling awfully playful.” 

Noctis rested back on his hands, cheeks hot and yet he felt satisfied. His impeding social responsibilities and heavy heart had withdrawn some of his charm and his joking demeanor. Usually by Prompto’s good-natured and friendly companionship could the prince find himself blindly having fun again but even with Ignis in their privacy did he see simple joys too. 

“Not going to thank me?”

A slow thoughtful silence filled their tent. Ignis ran a hand through his hair to push it from his eyes. “A thank you… I see.” He moved forward and that same heat filled Noctis’ stomach but this time in heightened anticipation. He looked at the approaching lips with such fondness that Ignis smiled right before the kiss. 

Soft and warm and comforting, Noctis’ eyes slipped closed and he enjoyed the present details of Ignis’ proximity. The sensation of smooth lips and the man’s cologne and the soft touch of his blond hair. They pulled back fractionally and Noctis’ heat radiated between them. He loved the darkness of Ignis’ eyelashes, usually hidden by the darkness of his frames. And a cheekiness came forward. 

“Give me one more.”

Light amusement hinted the man’s voice, “And what’ll you do if you get me sick?”

“I’ll take care of you of course.” The prince said with all the confidence a young royal could. 

“Oh?” Ignis murmured, quite surprised and yet wonderfully pleased at the idea, “And you’ll be doing the cooking too I suppose?”

“Mm,” Noctis digested the idea, licking his bottom lip thoughtfully, “Takeout for a few nights wouldn’t kill us.”

Ignis’ brows shot up and he laughed which made the prince laugh because it was such a delightful sound. Giving Noctis a fond look that he knew well (had seen and enjoyed for many years) he replied with his usual dry and yet still brimming with jest tone, “I would like to see this takeout in the desert.”

“Royal privilege does travel far, Ignis.” Noctis informed him with a mock polite nod as he slipped back into the sleeping bag. His limbs had grown weak and his neck needed some rest. 

Ignis chuckled, “I’m sure Gladio has some cup noodles he wouldn’t mind sharing as well.” 

“Always a practical thinker..” Noctis murmured, already drifting back into the sleep that fevers brought, floating in its ups and downs on waves of exhaustion. 

“Noctis.” 

His name, clear in the weights of sleep. He could hear it a thousand times more. Mistake the strength of the tone, the power of its person behind it but he would never tire of it. Ignis’ voice. “Hm?” He answered gently. 

The delicate weight of lips to lips made his stomach flip nicely and he smiled involuntarily. 

“As you said, royal privilege travels far.” Ignis whispered to him and relaxed beside the prince until he was deep in his dreams which had traveled away from lonely bedrooms to laughter filled classrooms where his name was said directly to him and he could answer.


	4. Ardyn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ardyn finds Noctis alone on the train and as they confront each other, he works to pull the prince to his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a cut from the scene where Noctis tries to confront Ardyn on that train where he is influenced by magic and can't see the true reality. It has some spoilers from the game and even just my description could have spoilers so if you haven't finished the game be careful. Thanks for reading.

Ardyn’s sharp stare, narrowed, perceiving even when Noctis desperately wanted to give nothing away. _Don’t take from me! Don’t take what even I have yet to understand!_

“They can all walk away from this. From you. They are only bound by the honor of words. Words are easily… broken.” 

“You’re wrong!” The brutality of his reply, sharp and too fast left him sucking in a breath in hot shame, confusion, hurt that he didn’t know what to do with. A wound quick to bleed even though he had yet to feel the true depth of its damage. The foundation of his reality relied on the loyalty, the bond of his companions; they were in this together. 

“It’s just you. You are to take the weight of it all on to the end. Why else would there be so much expected of _only_ you?” The man sighed, tossing himself carelessly onto one of the train seats, arms laying across the back of the seat. The dirt of his boots speckled around him on the floor. Ardyn settled one ankle on his knee and offered a loose point to Noctis, “Little prince, they care naught for you. If anything, you having a personality only makes it harder for them to get you to do what they want. Having to … cater to you and all.”

His mouth was open slightly in his shock. Mind racing into the white fog of anxiety and terror. He couldn’t move, still with his disbelief that he was listening and that it was affecting him at all. He felt a hot burn between his shoulder blades. 

Ardyn gave that crooked half smile he favored in expressions and threw himself forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He began making sharp, hard motions of crumpling an invisible piece of paper, “They have to- mold you-” That wicked grin, “Make you- into- what they want-”

“Stop it!” His voice tore from him and with that rage he burst forward trying to get his hands on the ugly venom and strangle it clean. Ardyn’s mirroring power collapsed his efforts against the empty chair, whirling him around without concern for bruised knees at the man’s chuckle back behind him. 

Between two rows of chairs Ardyn walked forward, amused. “The convenient doll of the Gods, of the people.” He was before the prince, and Noctis swore, he swore, there was magic at play here, magic taking his time away from him.

A hand gripped him stronger than he had ever been grabbed so intimately and held his chin, “And one so pretty too.” Ardyn’s gaze on him felt like the devil’s. He grabbed at the man’s wrist, working merely on his instinct. 

“You..” Softer, the angle of eyes in… Noctis recoiled… sympathy? “You are not _all_ alone, my ill-fated prince.” 

Tearing his face free, Noctis swiped through the air, the man’s magic residue catching between his fingers. He was breathing hard enough to hear, desperate. Why was he all alone with this traitor? 

But now he was with no one. Ardyn’s voice came as if two hands resting on his shoulders, a familiar friend, and spoke to him even though no matter where Noctis looked, he was nowhere to be found. 

“I am with you. You and I are the same. I share with you the weight of your burdens like no other man could.” 

“You are no man!” Noctis wildly threw up his arms, came before the aisle of the train car and began to run. He would find him, he would strangle the life from him, or he would outrun him. 

The door slammed against the wall; the next car empty. Could sheer rage have such a white mindless hold on him? Gladio would have come to his aid, put himself between Noctis and Ardyn and shown the prince there was nothing to come between them. Ignis’ logical words to block the lies. Prompto’s honest eyes. There was nothing… stronger… than their bond. 

Another door. Why was he alone? 

Couldn’t they all see? He was… drowning. He spun, anxiety making it hard to process the truth of his situation. The reality. He stumbled, knocking his hip on one of the seats but there were still other cars. He shoved the door open and the faint echo of a chuckle caught his attention.

“Ardyn!” No name felt so bitter on his lips, so toxic. “You will _pay_ for Luna’s life!” 

“Come make me.” 

Something caught his attention, the flash of magic, the flutter of cloth. The next car. He shoved that door open, heaving, and found himself facing exactly what he was looking for. Ardyn smiled, a snake awaiting prey, from across the car. 

“I’ll admit,” The man spoke, the words, no matter how rage fueled Noctis became, clear and harsh, “She was the real tragedy. I know I took those final moments from you. Or rather maybe from her. Her death was inevitable, you know.” How disgustingly light-hearted he spoke of her. 

“This is _your_ fault! This didn’t have to happen!” Some of his wit had returned. It was madness trying to reason with the devil but he needed to get close. Needed to be within a range to cause pain. But even that didn’t keep the raw emotion from his voice. 

“I will not go quietly into the night.” Ardyn’s voice shook the train cart viciously, once, as if a warning. It tipped the prince whose hand caught on a seat back. “I will not suffer at the hands of the Gods and say it is righteous for me to be forgotten, thrown into the wells of lost names. I have died over and over. You all write _my_ story and cast me aside? What do you know of loss? Lunafreya gave her life willingly to you. I just made sure you really,” His eyes narrowed, showing the light of his power at the edges, “Really felt the sting of the sacrifice.” 

Noctis pulled in a trembling breath, eyes hard and unmoving. The aching cavern of loss was enough to pull him to his knees. “You’re evil.” He pushed out in a rush of air.

“Evil is relative, my naive boy. Is that your response to me? That is your level of understanding of who and what you stand before? Lunafreya knew well of the oncoming darkness and she was a vessel of true light. Rather, in my favor, it is lucky she has passed.” 

Noctis let out a hurt cry, the words like a slap, and he lost himself. His hands rushed through the magic of teleportation slapping the hard wood of the far train door still closed. 

“You grieve and I applaud your humanity. If you were Lunafreya I would not have such power over your mind. You are weak. And yet I find myself so fond of you. You are a hero built by those around you, not a natural altruistic vessel for the world to rely on.” 

Noctis sobbed a breath against the wood, hands clenching into fists. He threw himself back to face Ardyn who cocked an eyebrow in challenge. He rushed for the man’s throat, knowing he would not be able to touch him but craving the sensation all the same. The floor met him, unforgiving to his palms, his knees. Why was this their fate? 

“It was simply the hand of the Gods.” Ardyn continued, knowing Noctis would listen, would have no choice but to listen. “Choosing you…” He hummed, as if he was actually thinking, “An interesting challenge for the world. More of a test of your comrades, no?” Two, dirty, dark shoes came into view. 

“I jest. Well, my tone is the jest. The words are as real as you would know.”

Noctis felt his breath shiver. The cold, suffocating weight of his duty on his shoulders knew no respite. “I won’t let you destroy the world.” He had his last barriers, defenses made of what felt like impenetrable justice. 

“I am here to right wrongs. Those who make great sacrifice should not be cast aside with such coldness. You are the same, Noctis.”

He shook himself, shook his head. They weren’t the same. He knew of no level of cruelness that Ardyn showed. He would never relish the suffering of others. Never put those in the way of danger for his own sake. 

“I know of your turmoil, Noctis. Raised to be thrown into the darkness, sacrificed at the great weight of so many others around you. You are meant to be proud of this, wear your ironball with honor and yet the fear of sinking below makes you feel unworthy. You feel that righteous anger. Why was Lunafreya not born to live long and for herself? Why was she taken for the sake of someone who fears his life all being for his death?” 

Noctis knew this sting and it was the sting of tears he had kept to himself all this time. The dry, choking hold of hopelessness was in his throat crawling up from his sinking chest. 

“They will leave you in the darkness and expect you to soothe the wrath of Gods. No matter how you or Lunafreya suffered, it is only worthy at your success. The Gods can even take your credit and what is left of your worth will go to their names. Lunafreya to be forgotten, lost in the sea of those who gave their entirety to appeal the chaos.” 

Slowly Ardyn kneeled before Noctis, coming in close. “But it doesn’t have to be that way.” He murmured as if sharing a precious secret. 

A sin to find the words so catching. He turned his gaze up, into golden hazel eyes that burned like the sun. Waver they would not. There was so much he lacked for in experience and so much he grieved that he knew not how to fold under the weight. Was there just supposed to be suffering performed by those chosen?

“Luna…” He whispered, crushed. He had lost too many people to be expected to stand upright and accept that the pain was his inheritance. He needed a hand. “Luna has..” 

A finger wiped away a stray tear and Noctis ducked at the exposure to his heart. Ardyn examined it for a moment, and then swept it into his fist, taking that same hand and opening it palm up to hold Noctis’ chin so very gently. 

“Lunafreya has moved on but you are still here. I can take that pain and fill those dark pits in your heart, prince. Your world doesn’t have to be plunged into a total despair. Her name can be a fond memory, golden and well-aged.” 

“I can’t let you.. destroy the crystal.” Noctis’ hand came up to grip the man’s arm, to pull it down and away from his own throat. 

“You’re right. Very noble of you.” Ardyn’s coy lifting cheeks was the indication of the coming smile. A fox in human’s clothing. “Even if I have endured a fiery rage so hot it would…” He tipped Noctis’ face to the left and drew one long finger across the high of his cheekbone, “Melt the flesh right from your very bones… I am not totally soulless.”

Noctis gave him a harsh, but unsound stare over his nose, determined not to let Ardyn be the victor in their game of chicken. “Your petty revenge is not worth the world’s balance!”

A boom of laughter, vicious. “Petty?” Ardyn tossed the prince back who had no choice but to catch himself on an elbow unceremoniously. “You play weak cards, my boy. Although they test my patience, thin by this ever present gnawing underneath my heart. You would tell me of petty revenges and yet you seek my death for Lunafreya.” He rose, standing above Noctis, his feet beside each hip, trapping him to the wood of the car. 

“My death would come to no revival. Simply the idea of quelling your anger beckons you. And for what? She has fulfilled the purpose given to her by the crystal, the Gods and by fate. She has passed with great pride for you are ready now to step into the spotlight, make her efforts known!” The tone shifted, resounding and commanding, “Don’t talk to me of petty revenges when your heart aches as mine did years and years ago.”

“It’s-” It’s not the same. But he couldn’t bring himself to finish, knowing it was a hollow argument in vulnerable places. 

And the shadow walker knew well of the power of his own words and let them sit in a painful, well-intended moment of silence. The eyes of a timeless fox pinning the prince with suffocating expectation made his inside ache. For a brief flash, Noctis had been warned of the fury rippling beneath the surface but for now Ardyn had once more found his sharp-witted, sneering composure and it showed in his expression.

About them the harsh rattling of the train clattered, an ever present reminder of time and of their surge forward. Ardyn finally spoke. 

“Darkness awaits you whether you fail or not, prince Noctis with your cursed bloodline.”

Pain, sharp like a blade could not be concealed so well as it felt truly it might take his life and Noctis bent his head to mask the honesty of his tears. Fluttering shadows moved in their own life-like manner from the windows and within them moved Ardyn.

He crouched closer. “You can change the course of fate. You can choose to defy the Gods and everything they’ve laid out for you.” His murmurings sat strangely on Noctis’ mind, coming into contact with the prison of his royal duty and slipping through the bars. “Who is holding you back now?” 

Noctis felt the bitter rise of fury in his throat. Luna, his father! They would never hold him back. For his cause, for the future, they had proven even their lives were forfeit at the cost of success. If he had been strong enough… 

“How do you know of complete certainty they were not taken unfairly by the concept of ‘fate’?”

With one cold hand, the prince gripped a harsh fist into the man’s shirt and snarled, “They _were_ taken unfairly!”

“Yes, yes,” Ardyn hummed, a coldness taking his expression. He examined the hand and then slowly, with quite more strength than Noctis had, pulled his shirt free, “But see, your anger is misguided. Was it I who chose this road for you? Hardly.” The grip harshened, and in surprise and pain Noctis cried out, trying to pull free. 

“Open your eyes and see how you play their games only to lose. You lose everything. You can challenge them before such an end predestined and written years before you.”

Noctis’ gaze, fixated on the man, stared into those eyes burning like fire. He was still in the unfinished motion of taking his hand back but lacked the full drive of the motion. Was it all really blanketed in such darkness? There was no true virtue or light to walk his path? Protection from a holy hand seemed merely words written to soothe the doomed as he thought of his loyal family. 

“You… can’t bring Luna back..” He whispered.

“Alas yes, there is no means to pull back a person to this realm. There is only the means of meeting beyond this reality. Join me, young prince. You’ll see there is a grander and more powerful way to take hold of your destiny.” The grip on his hand now only offered a resting place and rather a polite royal greeting. 

Coming forward, Ardyn, with no intention of levelling his gaze and with all intention to stare deep into the prince’s soul, laid a kiss on the bare knuckles. 

“I can show you that humans need not bend to every whim of the Gods to prove worthy. I can present the sadistic goals that pulled Luna underneath the waves of suffering are not given as a medal at birth but rather a punishment. Fear not the darkness but so that which so blatantly absolves itself of any.”

Breathless, eyes ever searching, Noctis opened his mouth although knew not what his answer was to be. He found Ardyn’s hand to be as real as his own; his words to hold a logic he could comprehend. Slowly he took tighter hold and pulled himself up. They rose together to their feet and Ardyn offered a space at his arm. 

Noctis examined it, feeling a strange lack of sensation or that his usual pain of aching loneliness and hurt was sitting beneath a curiosity and something lighter, something not nearly as heavy as responsibility. He came forward and found Ardyn’s arm come around him. 

“Let me formally invite you to my kingdom, young prince.”


End file.
